Stetson Woods lights out in Volcanoes loss

Spokane, WA -- The Volcanoes once again found themselves on the losing end of a pitcher's duel as the Indians won 2 to 1 on a walk-off single in the bottom of the 9th. While last night the Volcanoes struggled to get a clutch hit, tonight they had trouble just getting runners in scoring position as they only got three runners past first base all night.
After facing the minimum through two innings, starting pitcher Stetson Woods ran into trouble in the third. Third baseman Kole Enright singled to center to start the frame and left fielder Kobie Taylor followed with a double that fell just out of the reach of diving left fielder Bryce Johnson. With runners on second and third and nobody out, right fielder Nick Kaye hit a ground ball sharply to second base, scoring Enright and giving Indians a 1 to 0 advantage.
The Volcanoes would respond with a run of their own in the top of the fourth. Second baseman Orlando Garcia roped a ball to left and advanced to second when Taylor came up short trying to make the diving catch. Shortstop Manuel Geraldo then drove Garcia home on an opposite field single to left, knotting the score at one.
With nobody away in the bottom of the fourth, second baseman Yonny Hernandez launched a ball to deep right that appeared as if it would leave the yard only to have right fielder Dalton Combs reach high over the wall and bring it back. The highlight reel grab kept the score tied at one and helped Woods find his groove as the 6'8" right hander retired eight of the next nine batters he faced.
Both starting pitchers were nothing short of dominant tonight. For the Indians, right hander Tyler Phillips scattered four hits across 6.1 innings, giving up just the one earned run and punching out eight batters. The 6'5" righty sat right around 90 mph all night and touched 93 once. Phillips kept Volcanoes hitters off balance all night was his changeup, which he used on five of his eight strikeouts.
Woods made quick work of Indians hitters tonight by getting through six innings on just 69 pitches. By giving up just one earned run on the night, Woods continued his streak of pitching at least five innings and allowing less than one earned run. With the stellar performance, Woods was able to lower his league leading ERA to a minuscule 1.82 mark.
Volcanoes right hander John Murray came on for Woods and picked up right where he left off by pitching two scoreless innings in relief and getting all of his outs via the strikeout.
With the score locked at one in the bottom of the ninth, center fielder Miguel Aparicio was drilled by a pitch, putting him on first with one away. Hernandez promptly smacked a base hit to left to put the winning run just 90 feet away. With the infielders on the edge of the infield grass, first baseman Andretty Cordero drilled one past the third baseman for the walk-off winner.
While the Volcanoes have lost the series against the Indians, they have an opportunity to gain some momentum before heading back home as right hander Jose Marte takes the rubber for the Volcanoes versus Alex Speas and the Indians.